1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement for the application of topical substances to base products, and more particularly, relates to a rotatable star-shaped reel structure in which a flowable base product is tumbled while being coated with the topical substance so as to ensure an appropriate uniform distribution of the topical substance on the surfaces of the base product while inhibiting the formation of clump-like agglomerates of coated base product on the internal surfaces of the reel.
In the food technology, for example, such as in the production of so-called ready-to-eat dry cereals normally served with milk and sugar and/or fruit, in which the cereal is identified as the base product, it has become a widespread practice to coat such basic cereals with topical substances which may be solutions containing sugar, or mixtures of sucrose, dextrose, levulose, dextrins and the like nonsucrose sugars, referred to as invert sugars, or possibly vitamins in fat, in order to impart to the cereal various flavorings, organoleptic properties and vitamin supplements which are desirable to potential consumers as inducements for the purchase of the particular product.
Among such base products may be cereal bodies which are essentially non-porous, non-spherical or more or less flat in configuration, for example, corn flakes or similar flake-shaped products; or smoothly rounded or spheroidal bodies; for instance, such as puffed rice, wheat or the like, all of which present difficulties in implementing applications of relatively uniform coatings of the topical substances onto the surfaces of the base product; in effect, the cereal, which will not only impart the desired flavors thereto but also a texture rendering the product attractive and organoleptically palatable to potential and discriminating consumers.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Heretofore, and up to the present time, such topical substances have normally been applied to base products; referring in particular to the coating of dry cereals with solutions containing sugar or candy constituents of the type referred to hereinabove, while being introduced into a rotatable reel or drum possessing an essentially cylindrical interior which has its longitudinal central axis angled downwardly from an infeed end for the base product or cereal towards a discharge end and which includes a stationary conduit extending longitudinally and coaxially through the drum including spray nozzles for spraying and coating the base product with a liquefied topical substance, such as a sugar solution, dextrins, fructose, invert sugars, vitamins in fat and the like, as is desired for the particular coated cereal product. The drum has mounted, on the internal annular surface thereof, a plurality of circumferentially spaced and radially inwardly projecting axially extending ribs or fins which divide the drum periphery into a plurality of longitudinal compartments substantially extending the length of the drum, and which cause tumbling of the base product to enable the sprayed topical substance to be coated on the surfaces thereof during the rotation of the drum while being conveyed towards the discharge end of the latter. Hereby, the drum is maintained at a predetermined speed of rotation about its central longitudinal axis commensurate with the type of product being coated, and with the rotation being imparted to the drum through the intermediary of a suitable belt drive or motor-driven gear system, as is generally known in this technology. Concurrently, the drum which is ordinarily constituted from stainless steel, may have the interior thereof heated by an external heat source, such as a gas burner or the like, in order to maintain a predetermined heated atmosphere within the drum to prevent the buildup of lumps from fines and/or sugar in the topical substance on the surfaces of the cereal product, which may be considered objectionable by consumers. Although widely employed in the food industry relative to the coating of cereals with topical substances, steel drums or reels of cylindrical configurations having internal radially inward extending ribs or fins of the type mentioned hereinabove are subject to various drawbacks, and frequently fail to provide uniformly coated base products or cereals meeting consumer requirements. In essence, quite frequently, during the coating procedure, the syrupy topical substances produce lumps of fines and/or sugar within the drum which may produce unsightly clumps of product resulting in consumer complaints relative to the consistency and quality and of the product, and possibly adversely affect sales and product representation. Moreover, the lumps also tend to collect on the surfaces of the fins during rotation of the reel, and as a result adversely affect and retard the desired tumbling action of the product. Additionally, such steel drums or reels require frequent scraping and/or washing of the internal drum surfaces to remove agglomerated and sticky material adhering thereto, resulting in loss of product yield, downtime of the equipment and potential spud metal contamination of sugar-coated cereals produced in this manner.
Moreover, the requirement for heating the atmosphere within the drum by means of external heaters; for example, such as gas burners, which are employed to prevent build-up of lumps and agglomerations of fines or sugar, necessitates the expenditure of considerable amounts of energy, and often leads to burnt and charred particle contamination of the product being coated, again reducing the consistency and quality of the coated cereals.